


red-eyed kitty

by emptyvessel



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Domestic Fluff, M/M, baby vamp!chenle, parents!jaeyong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-14 06:29:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18047321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emptyvessel/pseuds/emptyvessel
Summary: Taeyong wanted to turn a cat immortal. Jaehyun suggests something a bit different.





	1. Chapter 1

“Baby, I’m so sorry, but I don’t think I can do that.”

Jaehyun somehow knew the question would’ve come sooner or later; the thought of it had always been at the back of his mind, and he always wondered when Taeyong would finally break and ask.

It was easily predictable, seeing that he did find Taeyong fussing over animals deep inside the forest when they first met. He was being one with nature, Taeyong had said, and Jaehyun would’ve taken that excuse if it wasn’t for the dark sky above them. Meeting the love of his life in the middle of the forest three hours away from sunrise was probably the best thing that had ever happened Jaehyun- well, if he was to throw away the odd circumstances they had been in.

Now, standing in front of him was a pouting, no-longer-human Taeyong, beautiful face scrunched into a disappointed one as his toes dug deeper into the carpet he was standing on. Jaehyun sighed, not liking how actually upset Taeyong was at his answer, but couldn’t help but coo at how passionate he actually was on the subject.

“But, if  _ I  _ could be turned, surely it could work on a cat too?”

Jaehyun couldn’t help but let out the chuckle he had been trying to keep. Taeyong pout grew at the mere sound of it.

“Jae, I’m serious!” He whined even more, half wishing that it would help with his case.

Taeyong had come to him in the middle of the day, asking if he could turn a cat- or any animal, he didn't really mind- into a ‘vampire’. They could be in bed sleeping, like normal nocturnal beings would, but no his sweetheart just really needed to get it out of his chest, exactly when the sun was up high in the sky.

Jaehyun knew Taeyong only wanted a tiny thing to keep him company in his immortal life, wanting another something that would live just as long as they would. The idea was entertaining; Jaehyun couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of a vampire cat running around the streets with red eyes, meowing for blood.

The covens would be a mess trying to handle a blood-sucking animal. Imagining a horse with fangs was worse.

Naturally, he had to say no to his lover’s little naive request. It was similar of a toddler’s, and that wasn’t entirely false. Taeyong was a newborn, after all, have yet to surpass the double digits of years in comparison to Jaehyun’s centuries of age.

Usually, Taeyong would just ask ridiculous stuff, like asking if running really fast would create a time loop that would make time travel possible (he was on a ‘The Flash’ marathon at the time), or, the most offensive one, was wondering if vampires really do sparkle in the sunlight after the first Twilight movie came out. Jaehyun had forced himself to sit down through the whole movie to point out every flaw or untrue stereotype he hated to Taeyong, in the name of educating the young vampire. He couldn’t allow his lover to run around the earth claiming that animal blood tasted like tofu to vampires. Absolutely not.

This time though, there really was a hint of seriousness in his question. Taeyong was, after all, a zoologist before he died, an animal lover by heart, and to this day still sneaked into zoos to spend time with the tigers as soon as they were closed for the public eye. They were too lonely, he had said after Jaehyun took him on a date there, and up until now, the older vampire would only tell him to be safe if he wanted to go spend his nights with his animal friends. Taeyong was pure-hearted as a human, and nothing had changed even when he was turned. The only thing that did change was that he was now able to jump up the high electric fences and into the enclosures.

Taeyong was human before he was ever an immortal, and Jaehyun understood how differently deeper he valued his views on the world now.

Taking that into consideration, the older vampire reached both of his hands out for his lover’s, pulling him down onto his lap as soon as he grabbed on. His answer would make Taeyong a bit sad, maybe for about 10 minutes, and he wanted to hold the younger closer for that. And like the affectionate little thing he was, Taeyong immediately buried his face into Jaehyun’s neck, nipping at it like he always would whenever he’s upset about something.

He bared his neck a bit more to let the young one do whatever he wanted. It helped calm Taeyong down, after all. “Am I boring you out already, sweetheart?” He softly asked, wanting to tease, and ran his fingers through Taeyong’s soft locks while he was at it. Getting a rise in his lover would always be Jaehyun’s favourite thing to do, honestly.

As expected, Taeyong jerked away as fast as lightning, eyes alarmed at the implications. “No, why would you even say that?” His frown was deep, blood staining his lips, eyes glowing red in anger. Jaehyun quickly kissed his palms, apologizing until they turned the normal brown again, and boy was he amused. He didn’t doubt that Taeyong felt the tiny smile on his lips as he placed down the gentle kisses. The returning pout was enough evidence.

“You can have pets, you know. I’ve told you this before, I really wouldn’t mind.”

Taeyong climbed off Jaehyun’s lap, crawling to the seat next to him on the horrifying velvet sofa he had learned (read; forced, since Jaehyun wouldn’t throw it away) to love throughout the years. The older vampire turned to face him, eyebrow raised to wait for a reply.

“They’ll die.” Was his short answer, but he knew Jaehyun would immediately understand why he was asking for such a thing.

He visibly saw how Jaehyun’s eyes softened, and couldn’t help but whimper when his lover came close to take his face into his hands, cradling his jaws ever so softly. Jaehyun could crush him, or anything, with a finger, but Taeyong knew personally how gentle the “frightening and cold” head vampire could be. The way he holds Taeyong had always been solid proof. Even after turning him, Jaehyun still handled him with care, full of love, never wanting to inflict even the tiniest of pain that he knew Taeyong absolutely wouldn’t have felt.

“I’m sorry, my love.” Jaehyun knew he couldn’t bring himself to say anything else. Mortality was always a sensitive topic for them who lived forever, Taeyong being his own personal evidence. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing the love of his very long life when the incurable disease was eating his sweetheart away from the inside. It had pained him so badly, knowing that his soulmate was a mortal, but now he was happy and he wished he could do something similar for Taeyong.

A thought came straight away after that. He got to his feet, picked his sad little vampire up into his arms and allowed Taeyong to wrap his long legs around his waist. If he had a beating heart, it would be pounding right now, considering what he was about to do. Taeyong always had that effect on him. Making him want to feel a heartbeat.

Jaehyun traced them both into the office, Taeyong’s least favourite room in the house. It was endearing, the backstory of it, and it never fails to make the older vampire laugh each time he has to spend too long of his hours doing work. Taeyong had complained about how the room showed exactly the reason why other vampires feared Jaehyun. He had to admit, he was harsh when he was working, but mostly it was because immortals get bored every so often and he had a lot of discipline to enforce, as one of their responsible lineages. Surely he couldn’t do that by giving them flowers and sending them blood cookies or something.

“I have something to discuss with you.” The older vampire whispered, holding his lover close. It made him nervous, because he really wanted this, and he knew nothing of what Taeyong might say. What if he said no?

Taeyong pulled away, tilting his head a bit to the side as he looked into Jaehyun’s silver-lined ruby eyes, his pureblood mark. He could feel the tension in Jaehyun’s expression, the rigidness of his body under Taeyong’s own. Even without that, he could feel how unusually out of character Jaehyun was being.

“You can tell me.” He cradled the older’s cheeks in his palms, smiling to ease the edge his lover was feeling.

“How would you feel...” Jaehyun squeaked out, arms tightening around Taeyong’s waist. No one would believe that this was the head vampire that lead the purebloods in the Rouge War when he was only 50 years old. People would shit themselves at the mere sight of the mighty Jung Jaehyun, and here Taeyong was, seeing the pure, raw side of him. Nervous. Hesitant.

He nodded. “Go on.”

It took Jaehyun a single second to snap out of it. A smile slowly found itself onto his face. This was Taeyong in front of him. The best person for his being. The perfect match for his soul. Even if he said no, there really was nothing that could make him love Taeyong any less. And he was confident enough to know that it went both ways too.

“Would you like to raise a child with me?”

It was silent for a moment, and the dread was starting to creep back into his chest at the lack of response, dropping his heart into his stomach. Jaehyun was so ready to retract his words but Taeyong was faster, widened eyes getting even wider as the grip on his face tightened.

“Say that again.” His lover said, voice laced with disbelief.

“Well, the boys received a call last night, the Lycans found a half-blood newborn baby abandoned in the woods, quite close to their territory for whatever reason. They reported it to the headquarters, but there’s no one to take care of him. Tracing his bloodline would be difficult, since he is a half-blood, but if we take him in, at least he’d have a home.”

Jaehyun was glad he was holding on tightly, because Taeyong seemed to quite frequently forget how much strength he possessed now that he was no longer human. He almost threw them both onto the floor as he beamed and launched himself back into Jaehyun’s arm, laughter filling the wide space as if they were the only one that existed. The pureblood soon found himself laughing along, Taeyong’s happiness was addictive as well as it was promising.

“We’re gonna have a kid! We’re gonna be dads!”

It was like he was announcing it to the whole world, the moment he jumped down and started twirling around the glass floor, graceful even without needing to try. Jaehyun watched with the same wide smile on his face, once again reminded that he was willing to go to the ends of the world to make Taeyong happy. He had been excited when the headquarters rang him up for the suggestion, but now, seeing his lover in such unrestrained joy, Jaehyun wondered if there existed an emotion happier than happy.

Centuries had passed for him and he had never seen someone as beautiful as Taeyong. It wasn’t his face, Jaehyun had lived long enough to understand how meaningless physical beauty was. Immortals like himself were all devilishly attractive on the outside; it was their uniform. No, Taeyong himself was so purely breathtaking, more so when he was happy, like how he was now.

Never in his very long life had he met someone that made him want to love, to receive it back, to crave for such an emotion he thought would’ve made him weak. How wrong was he, when just simply looking at his darling smile filled him with unfiltered power, and he’d be damned if he allowed anything to take that away from him.

With a smile, he traced exactly where Taeyong was, skillfully grabbing his waist and pulled him close. As much as he loved watching the half-blood run around, they had to actually discuss the matter at hand, seriously. Well, as serious as he could ever be around Taeyong.

“I must remind you, my love, this is not a puppy we’re adopting.”

Taeyong rolled his eyes and pulled on the older’s ear, lightly because this time he remembered what he was, and didn’t want to accidentally just tear the organ off. “You will not stop me from cooing at my son, no matter what happens.”

Something definitely bloomed in Jaehyun’s chest, the way Taeyong said that. He felt all giddy inside, so childlike that it did not match his age. In seconds he found himself grinning from ear to ear, the serious facade he had on earlier completely disintegrated. “I love you so much. I don’t think I’ll ever love anyone as much as I love you.”

“I’ll have to doubt that. I personally remember you tearing hell apart when I broke your favourite vase. On accident.”

Jaehyun closed his eyes in amusement, a whine resonating in his chords. Trust this creature to ruin the mood. “That was twenty years ago. And I made that vase with Van Gogh himself. I had the right to be upset.”

“Van Gogh did  _ not  _ make vases.”

“He did on his free time, yes he did!”

Taeyong shook his head, face filled with amusement as he cupped the pureblood’s cheek. “Can’t believe I’m adopting a child when I already have one to take care of right here, for the rest of my life. Maybe I should rethink this.”

“Don’t you dare,” Jaehyun faked a gasp, planting a soft kiss on the inviting red lips right in front of him, “I already have his picture on my desk to show to you. You can’t break my heart like that.”

His lover squealed and ran out from his arms excitedly towards where the picture was, and Jaehyun definitely felt himself fall a bit more in love than he already had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's a big probability for a second chapter tbh but i dont want to give any promises just yet. keep a lookout for it if you enjoyed this one! thank you for reading and have a nice day! 
> 
> [twt](https://twitter.com/yongvessel) || [cc](https://curiouscat.me/emptyvessel)


	2. little silver star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the cursed was a gift, the light for those who saw.

Taeyong rolled his eyes as soon as Jaehyun pulled away, the dull pulsing on his neck disappearing as fast as it stayed.

“You're honestly far more territorial than the wolves.” He said in a hushed voice, a bit breathless from the bite. Jaehyun gave him a wide and satisfied grin, his shiny white teeth now stained with Taeyong’s blood, eyes glued on his mark donning his lover's neck perfectly. If Taeyong was still human he totally would've flushed under the stare, but he was not and so he stayed pale even though burning up was literally what was going on all over his body.

The pureblood wasted no time planting his lips against the other's, letting Taeyong taste his own blood on his tongue. “I can't help it. They look at you like you're their first meal of the decade whenever you step into the place. Granted, you are a meal, but mine, and I wouldn't miss the chance of making sure they know that.”

It was personally hilarious to Taeyong. All they do was hiss at him nowadays, their version of cat-calling as if Taeyong would run right into their arms whenever they do start doing it. He had made it clear years ago that even without Jaehyun by his side, he was still as powerful as any of them were, and that they better respected him as such. The last one to try ended up with a broken neck for two weeks and Taeyong promised he was holding back.

However, it was crazy sexy how possessive Jaehyun acts whenever he was jealous.

Breaking the kiss, Taeyong threw the pureblood to the nearest wall where he landed right on his feet. The impact barely made Jaehyun wince, and he knew that of course, because hurting his lover was never on his agenda anyway. If anything, the wicked grin on his face assured Taeyong enough to know that he was more than okay. The animal in Jaehyun’s eyes was as clear as day as he watched Taeyong walk into his direction, clearly not letting anyone forget how actually dangerous he could be.

“Your blood runs inside me, I have half your pureblood abilities, and another half of my own. I think I can handle myself pretty well, darling.” He hissed into his lover's ears, loving how the pureblood shuddered at the small action. Honestly, who would've thought? “But thank you for looking out for me. I'll smell like you from a mile away, and I think I quite like that.”

It was Jaehyun’s turn to be rendered breathless, no matter how hard he tried to resist it. “You're really not good for my well-being.”

Taeyong gave Jaehyun his best smile, his sharp nails already leaving trails across the older’s exposed collarbones. “You're immortal. This is merely an exercise for you to live a bit longer.”

 

 

The headquarters were now a bit less terrible than it had been 90 years ago, when Taeyong had first stepped in there. He remembered so vividly getting cornered as a rogue, a wild lost vampire that was nowhere near the acceptable higher classes. He remembered being so afraid and unsure of what to do as he watched red eyes all swarming around him, his lover nowhere to be seen.

It was at the first hiss did Jaehyun finally appeared, sending everyone who even dared to lay an eyelash on Taeyong across the castle, his rage sensed from miles away. It turned out that the pureblood had masked his scent from Taeyong, wanting to allow the half-blood to have his own identity at first. It had backfired, of course, and Jaehyun had been so angry at the other vampires that he kept himself away from the place for at least a decade before he was begged to come back.

The second time wasn't any worse, but it certainly didn't get better. Instead of being looked like a threat, Taeyong was given predatory looks the moment Jaehyun left his side for the meeting he had to attend. It was a solid hour before Yuta, who at the time was yet to be Taeyong's best friend and was merely a stranger, had walked boldly to him and offered a handshake.

"I'm Yuta. Pureblood -though I hate the hierarchy as much as you do-, and very much uninterested in draining you dry, unlike all these other snakes."

Taeyong had warmed up to him easily after that introduction (as warm as a vampire could get). He was genuinely nice, though Taeyong had to admit, he had his doubts at first. However, Yuta's presence had deterred some of the eyes from looking at him, and Taeyong was thankful for that.

They had quite a nice chat together, and things weren't going so bad for the time being. Yuta was a chatterbox, millions of stories stored in his brain for the hundreds of years he had lived. It had eased the half-blood like a kid given candy after seeing the dentist, and ever since then, Yuta was the closest thing he had to a family right after Jaehyun.

Though that didn't happen just because of Yuta's ability to talk his ear off.

They were discussing the pureblood's speciality in the arts of combat, and Taeyong had been so deep in his own thoughts he only then realized the array of swords hanging from Yuta’s waist and strapped on his back, which he should’ve seen from miles away. He then learned that Yuta had come from the warrior race of the purebloods, and that bit of information surprised him. Most warriors weren’t friendly at all, and certainly not as laid-back as Yuta was. 

Taeyong was in mid-sentence when he had smelled a presence a bit too near from behind him. He remembered Yuta's eyes going shockingly livid, but that was the only thing on his mind before his hands moved on it's own accord and grabbed hold of whatever it was behind him.

At that point, his whole body had a mind of its own. Adrenaline pumping in his veins, fury building in his chest. Taeyong felt himself flip over from the ground where he was standing and landed gracefully a foot away, his hand severely crushing the neck he was using to pin down the vampire looking up at him in surprise from the dirt. His knee was digged deep in the stranger's stomach, and Yuta had never failed to remind him of how his eyes glowed silver and red at the time whenever the incident would come up in present conversations. Taeyong also remembered being so mad, so irritated at the nerve of this vampire to try and hurt him; he merely hissed before snapping the guy's neck in two, and then threw his limp body away, where he probably broke another few ribs at the impact against the wall. Not even their healing properties could help with the looks of it.

It was silent, all around him, and even Yuta was looking at him in shock. Taeyong didn't care if he had just flung a pureblood across the castle, or even a royal one like Jaehyun himself; his lover had trained him in combat for the purpose of self-defense, and defend himself he did. There was no doubt that if he had done nothing, he would've ended up having another mark beside Jaehyun's own that day, and to hell was he going to allow that.

"I respect the hierarchy bullshit you have going, but I do not care what rank you are, you will not dare lay a finger on me." He had said through gritted teeth, looking every vampire in the room straight in the eyes. "Not because of who my mate is, but because I am more than capable of erasing your whole bloodline away without batting an eyelash. Keep your hands to yourself, or I promise mine will be dangling your decapitated head in front of your respective manors in a matter of seconds."

Yuta had the widest smirk on when Taeyong turned back to him, satisfaction written all across his face. The half-blood didn’t even realize the significant sweet scent around him, missing the fact that it was much stronger to have just originated from the mark on his neck alone. Behind Yuta was a proud looking Jaehyun, who looked as equally as shocked as any other vampire in the room besides Yuta.

“You got yourself a fighter, Jaehyun. I’m very much impressed.”

Jaehyun gave the warrior a smile before gathering Taeyong into his arms, sensing how tense his lover was from what he just did. Like magic, he had slumped against the pureblood, all of his agitation thrown out of the window in the matter of seconds.

“I’m so proud of you.” Jaehyun had whispered into his ear, placing a kiss right underneath it. “Are you alright?”

Taeyong laughed, a hint of uneasiness in his voice, but felt much safer now that his lover was close. “I just threw someone across the castle in front of everyone watching. No pressure.” He was undoubtedly scared, he didn’t want to put any dirt on Jaehyun’s name, but the pureblood assured him that it was going to be alright.

“I mean, I would’ve done it for you if I had been here just a tad bit earlier. And I’m sure Yuta would’ve sliced his head off if you weren’t any faster, so I think you sort of saved his life.” Taeyong pulled away to find the warrior grinning at him, and he noticed how there was a sword out of its sheath, ready to be used in Yuta’s hand.

He gave his new friend a polite smile. “Thank you.”

Yuta slid his sword back in, shrugging it off. “It’s no problem. Though, you should drop by training sometimes. That was enough skill to surprise the young ones. A bit of brushing up would make you a warrior by sundown.”

 

So it still baffled him, how the exact same, most terrifying instructor of the warrior academy would also be the one running towards him in full speed like a huge golden retriever, the moment both Jaehyun and he arrived at the gates.

“You’re having a kid! This is insane!”

Taeyong laughed as his best friend tackled him into a hug, spinning him around like he weighed almost nothing at all. Jaehyun was smiling just as widely, though he kept his composure as a lot of eyes were looking at him. And Taeyong too, but the half-blood had gone past that already, years ago.

Yuta finally allowed him to breathe after a solid minute of screaming into his ears, pulling away with a face Taeyong knew exactly what was coming for him. “And you stink like a royal pureblood. Does he really have to?” The warrior threw a dirty look at Jaehyun, who rolled his eyes in response to his friend holding Taeyong dramatically away from him.

“You’re literally a pureblood too.” There it was, the start of the weekly bickering, and if Taeyong didn’t care for their reputations he would’ve pulled their ears down by now.

“Not a royal ass, that’s for sure.”

“I could literally kick _your_ ass six feet underground before you could even unseath your swords.”

Of course, Yuta never loses, so he stuck out his tongue and turned back to the half-blood. “At least I don’t act like an alpha lycan all over my mate before he interacts with anyone.”

Taeyong snorts. “Yeah. Because everyone in this goddamn castle knows it’ll take only a second for your katana to slice their heads off and become the next wall decor if they even dared to breathe in Sicheng’s direction.”

The warrior glared as he turned to the half-blood, his icy blue eyes evidently making an entrance. “You are not supposed to take sides. That’s the first rule of parenting.”

It took out a chuckle out of Taeyong, now that he realized how less nervous he was about the baby now that Yuta was there to talk the tension away. Jaehyun seemed to be aware of this too, giving his friend a soft pat on the shoulders in silent gratitude. They were both so nervous the ride to the castle was almost completely silent, and Yuta somehow saw that. He was always a little empathic, a bit more than others, which made him such a great fighter on the field. And also in comforting soon-to-be parents, it turned out.

“Okay, so only Kun was given access to the newborn, thus I can’t comment on how cute the little guy looks.  _ But  _ he had been squealing to Sicheng ever since he put the baby to sleep last morning, and even if I didn’t know chinese I’d be damn sure you’re having the most adorable baby fangs on the planet.” He grinned at both of them. “Though I’m sure you two would love him nonetheless. I’m very happy for both of you. Kid’s gonna have the best parents ever.”

Taeyong was having so many emotions. He was excited to no ends, already feeling himself falling in love with his son, and he was ecstatic to meet him. But he was also scared, because what if he messes up? He never had a kid of his own, much more a vampire infant. A literal newborn fledgling.

Jaehyun noticed his distress, and quickly moved to take Taeyong’s shaking hands into his own. “Hey, it’ll be alright. We’re gonna be okay.” He gave his lover a grateful smile, thankful that Jaehyun knew him better than anything else.

“He’s ready whenever you guys are.” Yuta smiled, this one soft and rid of all the teasing. “I’ll be at my post if any of you need me, okay? Goodluck, dads!” And then he traced away, gone in a split second, leaving just the two of them by the entrance.

_ Dads _ . The word alone made the both of them smile.

“Yuta’s right.” Jaehyun commented, planting a soft kiss on Taeyong’s lips. “He’s gonna have the best parents ever. We’ll make sure of that.”

Hell yeah, they’ll make sure of that.

 

 

Kun was standing in front of the room when the two traced there, a wide smile evident on his face as he gave the royal pureblood an elegant nod of the head. Jaehyun had given orders not to let anyone near the child, for security purposes. Even though respect to the royal bloodlines was a given, it did not fully eliminate the fact that he still had enemies. If they had the nerve to hurt Taeyong once upon a time before, the child was really no excuse to be left unguarded.

“Before you go in,” the blonde healer reached for something in his pockets and took out a small satin pouch, “I do need to tell you about this.”

He handed the item to Taeyong. The half-blood took it with an eyebrow raised, eyes filled with questions he knew he didn’t have to ask.

“I found that in the cloth he was wrapped in when they brought him in yesterday.” Jaehyun nudged for his lover to open it. Taeyong didn’t see any negative emotions from Kun, so he went for it and untied the lace around it. Inside was a gold pendant, some chinese characters written on it in graceful old calligraphy which he had picked up from the years of studying. He didn’t quite understand the meaning of it, though, only knew what language it was from.

Jaehyun held a palm out to Taeyong, wanting to see it. Gave it a few turns. “What does it mean?”

“It’s his name.”

Hearing this, Taeyong felt a slight drop in his heart. “Name? Can we trace his family with this?”

Kun face turned sour, and neither of them liked it. “I presume we could. But they also left a short note in there.”

Jaehyun quickly took the pouch and dunked it out. A piece of torn parchment came out on his palm, and even the look of it made the pureblood angry.

**_A curse._ **

Taeyong gasped, not even needing a mirror to know how red his eyes turned. Kun’s reaction was enough to confirm how angry his facial features were in retaliation. “And yet they named him. Jae, they named him.” His voice dripped with fury, low and deadly, that Jaehyun had to pull him away from Kun to make sure the healer would not be the receiving end of it. Kun shook his head, understanding, his eyes sad as he gave both of them a small smile.

“I believe you will care for him with all your life, the both of you. His birth family might not want him, but I have no doubt that you will do anything to give the child all the love he deserves.”

Names were very important to their species, it was all they had at the end of the day, so it was too understandable why Taeyong was so upset. Even if he was a turned vampire, the rule applied to him as well, and to think that a literal newborn was casted away by his family- which by itself is already something so absurd for them- they had the guts to name him before throwing him away. Take away from the child the one thing they could’ve given to him as his right.

“What’s his name?” The half-blood croaked out from Jaehyun’s shoulder, doing his all to calm down, for the sake of the child.

“It’s Chenle. It means... happiness.”

Taeyong pulled away, puzzled. It made no sense. “I don’t understand. They named him with something so beautiful, and then they throw him away? What’s up with that? Are they insane? Or is he like, taken away from his parents by force? Shouldn’t we try to trace his bloodlines?”

Kun and Jaehyun shared a look with each other, and Taeyong saw the hesitation in the healer’s face. He avoided Taeyong’s eyes completely. And the half-blood did not understand why.

“What is it? What’s going on?” He pressed, knowing in his guts that something wasn’t right.

“I'll leave that to Jaehyun for an explanation. I don’t think it’s my place to share.” Kun gave them a small bow, gave Taeyong’s hand a squeeze, and traced away, leaving just the two of them in front of the closed doors.

Curiosity piling up in him, Taeyong turned to his lover, who was staring at the pendant with so much anger that it almost scared him. Softly, he reached out to Jaehyun, eyes golden, now ready to try and understand. “Tell me. I can handle it.”

Jaehyun exhaled deeply, fisting the gold in his palm. “This… pendant. Only a handful of covens practice the makings of it. I’m sure if I run it through some searches, we’d find his coven in no time." His frown deepened. "This also means that he’s a pureblood. To which I suspect what they’re calling him a curse for.”

His eyes were hard, trying his best not to lose his anger in front of Taeyong, or the child in the room. It was so messed up, and he hated it, so much.

“When these covens get pureblood fledglings, the parents are given a pendant to write the child’s name on it, along with the one thing they will never get. Most write negative things underneath the names, catering more towards driving the bad omens away. It’s only tradition, there’s no deeper magic involved in it, so he’ll be okay.” Jaehyun shook his head in disbelief. “But this. They wrote his name twice on the pendant. Naming him the one thing they wanted him to never receive. It was their intention to want this child to suffer.”

Taeyong’s head spun at that. His stomach felt queasy, though he haven’t yet fed for the day. It was so sick to think about.

“Throw it away.” He replied, cold, not wanting another sight of the pendant. “I won’t let him ever need to see that. He won’t even need to know it exists. Our coven doesn’t practice that and he wouldn’t ever need to know he had such monsters as a primary bloodline. We’re his parents from now on. He’s our blood, and their coven can rot in purgatory for what I care.”

He cupped Jaehyun’s cheeks, allowing the pureblood to close his eyes and be at ease now. Jaehyun was disappointed, and angry, and so disgusted by what he was holding. It didn’t take a genius to know that it was his first time in all his decades to have seen something like that, and that must’ve broken his heart a lot more than it was damaging Taeyong’s. To have lived so long and still had to see such an evilness rooted inside some people made him sick. Taeyong wished he could just throw the pain away.

“We’ll love him, we’ll love him so fiercely that happiness is all he’s gonna get in his life.” Taeyong pressed their foreheads together, letting the familiar presence of their bond take over their hectic hearts. “He’ll be our happiest little fangs, he’s going to make so many of others happy too. He’ll grow to love and to spread his namesake, we’ll make sure of that. Yeah?”

Jaehyun nodded, the silver in his eyes enchanting to the half-blood once they were visible. It made him smile, the hope growing inside of his chest, and he had no doubt that it was there in his lover as well.

“Now let’s go meet our son. Let’s go give him the world he deserves.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for the love given to the first chapter, i'm glad you gave it a chance. here's the next one, and i hope i didn't disappoint. have fun reading, and do drop me your thoughts. much love, have a nice day and i hope things go well for all of you!
> 
> [twt](https://twitter.com/yongvessel) || [cc](https://curiouscat.me/emptyvessel)


	3. reason to breathe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> immortal as they were, he gave them a new purpose to be alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if this just proves that i know jack about babies

Taeyong thought he was done falling in love with Jaehyun.

Decades have passed since they first met, and the human in him had always loved so fast, so scared that his time would run out. Even after he was turned, he still hurried to find new things about Jaehyun to fall in love with, and by now, he has seen everything. All the beauty and flaws combined. He had loved Jaehyun on every soil they stood on, in every second they lived with, with every story shared. And Taeyong figured that he was done finding new things to fall in love with. He thought he was done falling. He thought he had reached the bottom of the beautiful abyss, and only needed to look up to continue loving.

But now, looking at the sight in front of him, Taeyong realized just how wrong he was.

He was still falling. It felt like it always did; a little overwhelming, but still enchanting, perfect.

Taeyong had woken up just as the sun was setting, the dark slowly blanketing the skies as his body switched the on button. It was quiet, relaxing, and it felt like the best rest he has gotten since forever. No rushed footsteps to calm his crying son, no meetings to attend, no nightmares jolting him up. None of that. Just an easy sunset outside.

His eyes were still heavy from sleep. They barely opened, but Taeyong knew that even if he tried, there was no way he could fall back asleep. Still, there was no stopping him from staying in bed, his limbs a bit too reluctant to start moving after such a nice rest. Chenle wasn’t crying, not a sound coming from the other side of the room showing that he was even awake. That was easily Taeyong’s green light to just stretch to the left side of the bed, searching for the familiar arms to crawl into.

Only he couldn’t find them.

That certainly woke him up, because Jaehyun’s side of the bed was cold, and he didn’t recall the pureblood mentioning anything about any work trips, which usually was the only reason for him to not be in bed until Taeyong drags him out. He pushed himself up, scowling at the empty space. So much for wanting to cuddle.

Defeated, Taeyong hauled himself out of bed, pulling down the bunched up t-shirt he had worn to sleep to where it was appropriate. The dumb unicorn Jaehyun had hand painted on it made him chuckle a bit. The pureblood despised it, more so now that Chenle was around. “He’s going to be so disappointed that his dad can’t draw, please put on something else.” It was all Jaehyun begged for him to do. And of course, despite Jaehyun’s whining, Taeyong never does, because it was cute (well, a decent attempt), and Chenle loved Mr. Bubbles anyway.

His feet shuffled lazily against the carpeted floors towards their son’s room, his daily routine ever since Chenle came back home with them. Initially, the plan was to have the cot in their bedroom, where it was visible and nearby. They ended up getting no sleep at all for the first week, not because of any crying, but because Chenle just wouldn’t go to sleep no matter what they did. He kept giggling and asking them to play with him in his own baby language, wiggling all around his tiny bed until sunrise. It was driving them insane, because of course they’d oblige their son’s cheerful request. How could they not?

They ended up making a nursery in the room next to theirs in desperation and sleep deprivation.

The door creaked a little when he pushed it open, and it made him wince, because it was still early and he didn’t want to wake his son up. The growing boy needed as much rest as he could get, common for new fledglings, and Taeyong was adamant to follow the advice they were given in order for Chenle to grow up healthy.

The room was vacant. His heart dropped at the empty cot. Chenle’s blanket was inside, all rumpled against the foot of it, but his baby was nowhere to be seen.

A little panicked, Taeyong traced to every room on the floor, his heart dropping to his stomach. He couldn’t find him, and a low curse was directed to Jaehyun’s huge mansion they were living in, too big of a space to find a barely 2-foot child just after waking up.

His hunt halted as soon as he traced downstairs, his breathing coming back to him at the first sight he got in the living room. Mesmerized, his two feet stuck themselves to the floor he was standing on, a soft smile easily finding their way to his face as he watched.

Jaehyun was taking up the whole length of the couch, deeply asleep like he’s been doing it for years. On his chest was their small son, safely held in the pureblood’s arms to stop him from falling off. His face was buried into Jaehyun’s neck, not even having to be biologically related for Chenle to pick up Taeyong’s habits. He looked so peaceful in his sleep, so comfortable in his dad’s embrace in the middle of the living room with the fireplace lit on.

Taeyong was still falling in love with their son every single day, it’s barely been a month after all, but despite the decades, he was still falling crazily in love with Jaehyun. And he didn’t think he’d ever stop. Taeyong didn’t think that was even possible at this point.

His heart swelled at the sight, his chest full with the immense amount of affection as he leaned his head against the wall, taking in the serene look on Jaehyun’s face, and Chenle’s squished cheeks, all for himself. It was unbelievable, at the back of his mind, because Taeyong really thought his life was already perfect with Jaehyun in it. He never considered the possibility for a higher bar, for a perfect more than the one he’d already received. Chenle changed that in a blink of an eye.

With his panic now gone, Taeyong left the two alone, not wanting to disturb their brief bonding time. He had no idea how his sweethearts ended up downstairs, but he could, of course, ask later. Jaehyun had no urgent work he had to get to anyway. Today was a day off for all of them. What better than to sleep the whole day away, and who was he to deny them of that?

  
  


They were both still asleep when the half-blood came back downstairs, all showered and cleaned up. Well, at least Jaehyun was. Chenle was waking up, eyes still closed as he tried to wiggle his way out from Jaehyun’s arms, the sound of Taeyong walking down the stairs probably woke him up.

Not wanting him to fall, Taeyong quickly ran to scoop the little sunshine into his embrace, doing that as quietly as he could. The pureblood has had a busy week as far as Taeyong could remember, meetings and all. Jaehyun could probably use the extra rest.

“Hello, sunshine.”

Chenle took a moment to recognize the face in front of him, his tiny eyes squinting in confusion for a few seconds before they turned into small crescents, the sight of his dad making him smile. Taeyong found himself chuckling at the action, his hands delicately supporting his son’s head as the boy threw himself back happily, and Taeyong quickly walked away from Jaehyun just in case they’d wake him up. Chenle was giggling now, chubby arms wrapped around Taeyong’s neck as he found his burst of energy for the day.

It really was a different kind of happy the moment Chenle came into their lives.

Feeling a bit playful, Taeyong blew raspberries into his son’s tummy, taking in all the laughter Chenle had to give to him once he was sure Jaehyun was out of earshot. Not even the greatest music could win over the sound of his sweetheart’s happy little giggles.

It felt so surreal at times. He used to think that being turned and given a second chance at life was his greatest gift of all. Clearly, Chenle changed a lot of his expectations in a blink of an eye.

They found themselves in the kitchen, Taeyong fumbling with just one hand to prepare Chenle’s first meal of the day. Adults could go a whole month without feeding, but seeing that their son was just over two months old, he still needed all the nutrition he could get, which meant a full serving every single day.

Chenle wasn’t picky with his drink, he loved feeding time, but Taeyong found that he quickly got headaches whenever they take a pack straight from the fridge, and it turned out that their little baby loved warmed up blood a bit more than the cold ones. So that’s that. Soak the packet into a pot of hot water for two minutes would warm it up perfectly. Taeyong could do it with his eyes closed by now.

Fledgling’s diet usually consisted of human blood, sometimes even their parent’s very own whenever necessary. However, in Chenle’s situation, Jaehyun and Taeyong have both agreed on only feeding their son with their own blood due to their son’s circumstances. There was the past, unwanted bond that they were determined to erase, and just like how Jaehyun’s blood flows in Taeyong, they wanted Chenle to have theirs.

“Look at my favourite boy.” Taeyong cooed as Chenle suckled on his bottle. He received a smile in return, his well-mannered sweetheart never running out of them. “You’re too cute, sunshine, give daddy’s heart a break, yeah?”

As if he understood, Chenle giggled from behind his bottle, tiny hands making grabby motions to his father’s face. The half-blood broke into a wide smile, utterly and definitely gone for his son.

Lost in his thoughts, Taeyong found himself going back. “Cursed my ass.” He whispered, eyes rolling, but kept his smile on his face. Chenle continued to feed, clueless to whatever his father just said, and it was definitely better that way.

Taeyong yelped out of his stance the moment he felt a finger dig into his side the second after, snarling at the attacker since he had no hands available to hit him for it, and since he knew exactly who it was. Jaehyun laughed, gave him a short kiss on the cheek before flicking his lover’s nose, taking full advantage of the half-blood’s immobility at the moment.

“Language, you potty mouth.” He placed a tiny peck on Chenle’s forehead as well, smiling at as his son happily wiggled in his father’s arms at the contact. Taeyong stuck out a tongue in retaliation, not taking back his words.

He brought Chenle close to his chest, palm reaching out to cover the boy’s exposed ear. “I said, cursed my  _ very cute buttocks.” _ Jaehyun laughed wholeheartedly as he shook his head at Taeyong’s scowl, fully noting how the subject wasn’t as touchy as it was before. They had to move on somehow. Sure they’d hold long grudges, since they had the time to do so, but it made him very happy knowing that Taeyong was willing to joke about it now, the forgiving soul in him still as profound as ever.

“Very cute indeed.” Almost a century and they were still flirting. “How long have you been awake?” Jaehyun slipped his arms around Taeyong’s slim waist as he pressed kisses on his lover’s neck. He liked getting the small hisses through the half-blood’s gritted teeth, entertained at the fact that Taeyong couldn’t do anything but keep his sounds hidden now that Chenle was around. Not that he was going to do anything to taint his son’s innocence, he just really enjoyed riling Taeyong up for no reason, knowing that he was safe from getting thrown at a wall that day.

The half-blood lowly whined as he kept his hands steady around Chenle’s bottle and under his son, barely keeping it together as Jaehyun started scraping his teeth against his sensitive skin. This idiot was killing him, damn it.

“A while now, I finished a whole chapter of that new book before the cutie woke up.” He kept his voice steady, not letting the other win, that was for sure. “And by that, I meant Chenle, not you, smelly old man.”

“Hey, low blow. No age talking in this relationship, I thought we’ve discussed this.”

Taeyong snorted. “Are those knees giving out anytime soon, grandpa?”

His lover gasped as Taeyong was manhandled to turn around, his jaw hanging in an exaggeration. “I’ll let you know I’m perfectly able to throw you off a cliff and run just as fast to catch you before you reach the bottom, you brat.”

“Says the one who cried his eyeballs out from only a month of being apart from me.” He would never allow that story to die. “Still can’t believe I’m banned from flying away without you now just because you’re a clingy little bloodsucker.”

There were times when he actually doubted Jaehyun’s age. Now, for example, watching his lover stomp his feet in place as he pouted. Not even Chenle could do that as of yet, and here his decades-old lover was, throwing a tantrum merely at the reminder of his embarrassing episode.

“A dumbass rouge was after you and I wasn’t there to take care of it. You could’ve gotten hurt, you know this.”

Of course he knew, and he loved it every time he was reminded, but revenge was sweet and nothing felt better than getting back at Jaehyun for being a tease. His cheeks stretched as he grinned, securing his win. “Language.”

Jaehyun sighed in defeat. Winning over Taeyong was never the universe’s plan for him. When will he ever learn, honestly?

At the tiniest sign of triumph, the half-blood laughed, quickly planting a kiss on Jaehyun’s cheek before he could help himself. “Cute.” He scrunched his nose, pulling away to act nonchalant at what he just did; but even if his eyes were closed Jaehyun would see the smile Taeyong was trying to hide.

Winning Taeyong over, though? Jaehyun had that down decades ago.

  
  


“Why were you both sleeping in the living room anyway?” Taeyong asked as he watched Chenle do his best to crawl on his belly, noting how Jaehyun fussing over his work at the other end of the room. What was even the use of a whole office when the pureblood still brought all his papers into the bedroom? On a day off, of all times. “I had a mild heart attack when I couldn't find him in his cot when I woke up.”

Jaehyun had his serious work face on for a millisecond before he turned to Taeyong, eyes squinting as he placed the documents down. “I was gone too. No heart attacks for me?”

Taeyong rolled his eyes in reply. “I wanted to cuddle today and you weren't there so I'm allowed to feel petty.” He scooped his son up into his arms, giving the boy light feathery kisses all over his face. Jaehyun chuckled as he took in the sight, love a bit too small for the feeling inside his chest. Aware how he was neglecting his lover even now over his unimportant work, he traced right in front of the half-blood, wrapping his arms around both his son and his mate, pressing them close to his chest. He caught Taeyong’s smile before Chenle started to wiggle out of the embrace.

Obliging the tiny one's request, they placed him back on the floor, where he almost raced to grab his stuffed cat Taeyong gifted to him the moment he came home with them. As soon as Jaehyun made sure Chenle wasn't going to topple over, he scooted closer to the half-blood and pulled him back in, taking in every drop of scent Taeyong was willing to give.

“I couldn't really sleep this morning so I ended up just watching you for hours - your odd habit of making malfunctioning android sounds is back by the way - and then I heard him wake up.” His sharp senses had allowed him to walk into Chenle's nursery right before their son could start crying, and Jaehyun was glad because Taeyong looked really tired in his sleep and he wanted his lover to get as much rest as he could. They do take equal time to care for their son, it was impossible to pull away from the small sunshine, honestly, but Taeyong had been getting a bit restless the past week and Jaehyun wasn't going to disturb him. “He wouldn't go back to sleep, and it was still early so I just carried him around the house, sang him his lullabies, and we somehow ended up downstairs. I was showing him the fire tricks he liked with the fireplace, the puffing dragons and all, and then he started yawning in between his giggles so we just both ended up on the couch like that.”

“So much for hating that Cullen guy, you're picking up on his habits now.” Taeyong giggled, imagining Jaehyun looming over the bed while he slept, in distress. He was fully aware of the pureblood’s habit, just being on his side, caressing Taeyong's hair and playing with Taeyong's features with his fingers, his way of silent admiring. Some days Taeyong would wake up to that, and it was the nicest feeling ever.

Jaehyun hummed as he rocked Taeyong gently, back and forth, occasionally pressing his lips against any surface he could access from the position. “I'm born way earlier than he was, mind you. And he's a stalker, creeping outside someone's window just because he was in love with her. Bull- I mean, dumb. At least I had the decency to give you flowers when trying to court you.”

Of course he had to give Taeyong flowers on their first ever date. The red and white bouquet of roses still fresh in his mind, though they have withered through the years. Oh, the hopeless romantic his lover was. He truly found his everything with Jaehyun.

“I loved the flowers very, very much, if you have yet to know. I pressed them into bookmarks and found a way to prevent them from turning into dust so they're still in my possession. They’re somewhere in my box, if I dig through almost a century worth of all your gifts.” He buried his face into the pureblood's shoulder, letting the familiar, soothing scent welcome him.

Jaehyun hummed, his senses all filled with Taeyong. “I spoil you too much, don’t I?”

The half-blood couldn’t stop smiling, Chenle’s occasional giggles in the background adding to his happiness. “Well, you’ve bought literally every single toy you’ve found on planet earth for Chenle, and he can’t even play with them yet. Really puts everything into perspective when you do that.”

“I just want the best for him.” Taeyong softened, melting into Jaehyun’s chest at the words. Of course they both did. He had no problems with Jaehyun making a pool filled with money for their son, as long as he was safe and away from harm, Taeyong didn’t mind things one bit.

The pureblood pulled away a bit so suddenly. “I just remembered. I need you to see this.”

Taeyong gave him an awkward stare when he started to undress, just the top part, throwing off all the fancy dumb layers he loved to wear. It was a good thing that Chenle wasn’t being quiet in the back, reminding the half-blood that his son was in the room as well and he couldn’t just jump on Jaehyun for being half-naked. He wasn’t a horny teenager with no self-control. No matter how good the other looked with just his bare, snow-like skin.

Jaehyun gave him a tiny smirk of acknowledgment, knew exactly the effect he had on his lover, but he had a point for this and there was nowhere in hell he would allow any obscene activities while their son was around. Maybe he’ll ask Yuta to babysit later. His poor lover had been teased all day, he didn’t want to make him lose it anytime soon.

“Sweetheart, come here.” He turned towards Chenle, who was literally just minding his own business with his plushies. Taeyong watched, wondering what it was. Their son was a dictionary filled with surprises, they’ve learned a lot for the past month, and he wondered what this one would tell him, considering that Jaehyun had to take his shirt off for it.

Chenle squealed as his father’s strong arms picked him up, and if Taeyong wasn’t being extra attentive he would’ve missed how his son’s eyes flashed silver the moment he was brought facing the pureblood. A tiny gasp escaped him when, because as if he wasn’t just fed an hour ago, Chenle started mauling on Jaehyun’s shoulder, similar to a cat after being given a bowl of catnip for a whole week straight. His eyes widened all at the same time, watching as their son slobber all over his lover.

“Look at him!” Jaehyun laughed, craning his neck to peak at the tiny vamp. Chenle had no teeth yet, they were all gums, but it was incredibly entertaining to watch his son go crazy on his shoulder. “Why is he doing that? I’m pretty sure this is not any cannibalistic tendency.”

Taeyong found himself laughing too, albeit a bit awkwardly as his eyes fixed themselves on his son, still going at it. “I think he’s teething.”

“But on my bare shoulders? He doesn’t do it when I have clothes on, I swear. And he doesn’t do it on his plushies or anything.”

The half-blood shrugged, still smiling his cheeks off. “Your clothes do dampen down your scent. And I think he likes your scent, it’s something familiar.”

“Hey, buddy.” Jaehyun laughed as he pulled Chenle away, slobber all over his chin under his toothless grin. “Why don’t you do that to daddy too, huh?” Taeyong rolled his eyes, swiftly removing his t-shirt to prove a point.

“Because this daddy doesn’t walk around the house half-naked all the time, unlike someone else.” He retorted, taking Chenle away from the pureblood. Like seeing a new toy, Chenle surged forward and lunged for Taeyong’s bare shoulder, knocking his dad a bit to the back at the jolt. Both Jaehyun and Taeyong stared at their son, and then at each other before bursting out in laughter, theories confirmed.

“So what? Now we need to be half-clothed all the time to help him grow his teeth out? Is that it?”

Taeyong snorted, pulling Jaehyun’s chin up with his free hand, knowing exactly that his lover’s eyes were going down his waist. “Hey, soldier. My eyes are up here.” Jaehyun would’ve done something about that smirk if Chenle wasn’t in the same room. “And well, if it’s what he wants, then I don’t see why not.” There was a naughty grin on his face, knowing exactly what he was implying, and Jaehyun made a mental note to make a quick call to Yuta as soon as they were done here.

  
  


“I don’t want to freak you guys out, but you guys have to come with me.”

Taeyong and Jaehyun were in the middle of a meeting with some executives when Sicheng burst into the room that evening. Fully alert, the two had jumped out of their seats in a matter of seconds, to hell with the discussion going on. The look on their friend’s face wasn’t good, and considering that they couldn’t see Chenle around immediately, their fear was completely justified.

They traced instantly into the training room, where Sicheng had led them to, and Taeyong couldn’t help but panic a little bit inside. Why would they be brought here? Why the hell did they bring Chenle into a room filled with dangerous weapons? Did something bad happen?

“Dadi!”

They heard Chenle before they saw him, his cheerful voice loud and clear in the silent room. Yuta materialized a moment later with their son in his arms, clear of any injuries, his eyes disappearing in a smile as soon as Jaehyun took him away from his fellow pureblood. The scent of his fathers immediately sent the child into a mass of giggles, to which Jaehyun and Taeyong were both very confused about, fully acknowledging the panic in Yuta’s expressions too.

“What’s going on? Why do you look so spooked? What happened?” Taeyong asked his best friend, his mind changing. Maybe it was Yuta who was hurt. Maybe there was something wrong with his friend. 

The warrior shook his head, visibly shaken. Taeyong turned to Sicheng at the voidness of answers from Yuta. His mate wasn’t looking so good either.

“Someone answer him,” Jaehyun demanded, looking at the young warriors shuffling around at the sight of the royal pureblood. He might have a child in his arms, but that didn’t make him any less scary than usual. “Is everything alright?” He furrowed his eyebrows, re-checking his son again for any wounds. Still, Chenle was perfectly fine, and so he wasn’t so sure why they were all looking like they had just murdered his son.

Sicheng stepped up to Taeyong, sensing the tension amongst his students. “Yuta was holding Chenle as the kids trained, and they were throwing javelins, where he was completely out of reach from. They were standing really far away, the kids could barely hear Yuta’s instruction. One of them wasn’t hitting any of the targets, and then it happened out of the blue.” As if nothing had happened, Chenle started whining for Taeyong, struggling his way out of Jaehyun’s hold, but smiled as bright as the sun when his dad took him in a second’s notice. “There was this white light surrounding Chenle, and then the javelin flew right out of the arsenal, curving straight into the bullseye. Like, not a centimeter flawed. The kids were just given a break, no one was throwing anything, and then Chenle just started clapping as soon as it reached the board.”

As if he understood, Chenle started to laugh, his tiny hands clapping in happiness as he smiled at Sicheng. Taeyong’s eyes widened, pulling back to take a good look at his son, and noticed how his golden eyes were gleaming on its own. No trace of silver, no trace of red. Just pure gold, exactly how they were the first time Taeyong saw him in the room.

“Nothing happened, well, nothing dangerous, but I thought you guys should know considering his… extraordinary gift.” Jaehyun was gaping, his eyes scanning the other kids to see if it was a joke. Obviously, it wasn’t. “Just in case, you know, he starts to target practice at home. Sorry if I scared you guys, but I’m gonna tend to Yuta now. He was a bit spooked out, but he’ll be alright to babysit again in an hour, tops.”

Sicheng gathered his mate in his arms, and ordered for the kids to start practicing again. Taeyong realized quickly that they weren’t actually afraid of Chenle, but rather of the royalty standing in front of them without any notice. Jaehyun tended to have a bit of a scary reputation with the young ones, seeing his history. Most of them were probably just too nervous at the sudden visit.

“You scared Uncle Yuta, you little devil.” Taeyong laughed, prepping kisses all over Chenle’s small face. The boy made no effort to run away from his father’s rain of affection, somehow looking a bit proud at what he just did. The half-blood shook his head, pressing one more kiss on his little nose before noticing how quiet Jaehyun was.

He turned to his lover, a bit worried. “Hey, you okay?” Almost like he sensed Jaehyun’s sour mood, Chenle reached a hand out in concern, only smiling again when his dad leaned into his small palm.

“I’m alright.” Jaehyun sighed, holding his son’s hand on his cheek in place. “I thought something bad happened to him. Felt my heart jump out of my chest on the way here. I just needed a moment.”

Taeyong turned to Chenle, squinting his eyes at him. “You scared daddy too. That wasn’t nice.” Jaehyun laughed at the effort, knowing full well that their kid wasn’t in control of his powers. Chenle was a rare case, a special little vampire that they knew they were going to be surprised by.

“Come here.” He spread his arms, inviting his son for a hug.

Chenle rested his head against Jaehyun’s shoulder, small fist grabbing his father’s coat just because he could. The half-blood smiled, raising on his tiptoes to press a soft kiss against Jaehyun’s dimple. He could sense the nervousness from miles away, and just knowing the possibility of what Chenle could actually achieve, he understood. Their ‘cursed’ child was powerful, even more so than any other warriors standing in the room with them at the moment. But now, looking at his son quietly resting against his father, Taeyong knew there was nothing to be scared of.

“It’ll get harder for us to protect him once he grows up. News travels fast, and I have a lot of enemies. He’s barely a year old and he’s getting stronger day by day. I’m sure he wouldn’t hurt anyone, but I can’t say the same for the people who would want to hurt him.” Jaehyun gave Taeyong a small, anxious smile, never wanting anything bad to happen to their son.

Taeyong shook his head, cupping his lover’s jaw with one hand and gave his soft cheek a stroke of the thumb. “You’re not alone, Jae. We’ve all collected our fair share of enemies in this realm. But you. You’ve done so much for this race, this coven, so I assure you, you’ve got more allies than you have foes. Plus, I’m pretty sure we’d both bend over hell if anyone ever dares to hurt him. We’re in this together, you and I. No one said it’ll be easy, but think about how he smiles to you every day when you wake up. How he calls you for a hug, to sing him to sleep. He’s worth it; he’s our reward. I’ll be with you for as long as forever stands, and I think Chenle thinks the same too.”

“But what if I’ll fail to protect him?”

“You’re the greatest noble of this race, the royalty of this coven, the front line leader in almost every war to get this world where it is today. You’ve taken care of me for almost a century, and a solid vice versa at that.” Taeyong smiled. “They’d be foolish to think that you won’t do anything to keep our son safe, and they’d be utter idiots to even think of taking our son away from us. I trust you, our son trusts you. I think you need to trust you, too, oh Mighty Jung Jaehyun. This is never meant to be a burden over you. I’m all the way in, but you can’t ever blame yourself for anything that would happen okay? If they ever even happen.”

Jaehyun took a moment to process those words, before finally nodding, arms tightening around Chenle’s small back in his embrace. Taeyong always knew exactly the right things to say, and even in this situation, he was always an anchor to his messy thoughts, Jaehyun wondered how he survived before he even found his soulmate. Probably just target driven determination, nothing less.

“They threw him away as a curse, but that doesn’t mean that they were right.” Taeyong assured, pressing soft kisses on the pureblood’s back, in between of his shoulder blades being his usual relaxing point. “We’ve known more about Chenle than they do, and it was their loss, letting go of such a beautiful child. Hating on him as if he was a disease. Fools. I’d try tracking his original family only to tell them what kind of idiots they were for doing that.”

Jaehyun smiled and used his free arm to gather the half-blood by his waist, pulling him up to be seen eye to eye. Always the beautiful rubies in his eyes. Never failing to take his breath away. “He’s our child now, our legacy. Our blood runs through him more than any other blood he’s had before he was thrown away. He may be the only one who would have all the answers to all these questions, but until then, we help him find himself too, and at the same time, telling him that his place is also here, where he is loved.”

Taeyong leaned against his lover, his own doubts spilling out. “This could’ve easily been our powers combined in him, you know. A pureblood kid, having the eyes of a half-blood, and then they’re suddenly bright gold in the irises just a second later. Kid gets fed with noble pureblood blood from one father, and his other one is a human turned half-blood that definitely has pureblood blood inside of him too. But I think we’ll figure that one out later.” He wanted to go home, where their safety was secured, where anyone had to go through them first before they could stand a chance to get to Chenle.

The half-blood gave his son a gentle stroke against the head, finding his smile again. “You wanna go home, sunshine? Take a looong nap with me and daddy, in one bed, no walls in between us? You missed that, didn’t you?” Chenle hummed sleepily against Jaehyun’s soaked coat, saliva very much making its mark there. He pulled up to kiss Jaehyun fully on the lips, assuring, promising, protecting. They were together, for a very long ride in the very long years, knowing that they’d have each other’s back always.

And their sweet little sunshine? He might have made them a little vulnerable, but he also gave them a push to protect harder, to love more and to be fearless of the future; all in which he helped unknowingly. In this eternal ride of love and trust, Jaehyun and Taeyong couldn’t be any happier that they had each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope one day you'll all find your own reasons.
> 
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> [twt](https://twitter.com/yongvessel) || [cc](https://curiouscat.me/emptyvessel)


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